2.) I have a closet FULL of clothes.
3.) There are people all over the world who have no clothes and I'm an ungrateful little brat.
4.) Knowing this does not make my clothes any cuter.
I prefer, oddly enough, to lay out my faults to you. (For reasons other than it gives me gobs of writing material.) It's so you can know we're on equal ground and I hope that connects us across our PCs as you venture out and take risks. I need you to know that I am not particularly super gifted at anything. Everything I do takes effort and practice. That's the truth. For example, I didn't even know I could cook at all until I embarked on this electronic recipe documentation adventure. Sure, I always made bits here and there, but not at this caliber, nor with this level of bravado. Repetition, I will say, has afforded me some level of competence. But it's more than that.
With this small molecule of confidence as a building block, somewhere in the past months/couple of years I've managed to offload all fear. I've learned to embrace my failures in life, work, cooking, running, relationships or otherwise, with a hearty dash of humor and a better helping of self absolution than I ever could have mustered in my torturous 20s. (I recommend everyone turns 40 because it's completely liberating.) I've learned that humility and forgiveness settle the spirit like nothing else. But most importantly I know this: for all good character traits I possess and coexisting bad behaviors I'm working to eliminate, I like who I am.
Back on point. My closet crisis. And ingratitude. (Lest you think I've grown too much.)
In honor of cultivating my seemingly lost ability to appreciate all that I have, I decided to do pantry cooking. And only use what I had at home. No new stuff.
Pesto Cream Sauce
2 heaping tbsps fresh pesto
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of nutmeg
Dash of pepper
1/2 lb tagliatelle or wide pasta
2 tbsps toasted pignolias (pine nuts)
6 reconstituted sun dried tomatoes, chopped
Sprinkle of Parmesan
I'll start with the pasta. Good pasta. From Durante's in CT.
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| Homemade and nothing's better. |
The noodles I chose for this were exceedingly wide. Much wider than fettuccine noodles. If you can find it, pick it up! If not, any long, flat, wide noodle will do.
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| This stuff really is indescribably good. |
I think I may need to get a taller pot for cooking pasta like this. But within a few seconds, it all softened and fit in there. I make due with the cookware I have and it's just fine.
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| Salt the water. |
Seven minutes and the pasta was perfectly al dente. Which is how I prefer mine. Then I drained it.
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| How can anyone not love these generously wide noodles. |
I made pesto from scratch a few months ago and put two heaping tablespoons in snack size baggies, flattened and froze. Then I have single serving size pesto on hand to use at any time. I took this right from the freezer, broke it up and put it in a pan on medium heat.
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| In pieces. |
It only takes a couple minutes and it will melt back into its original state.
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| Ready to go in a matter of moments. |
I had just a bit of left over heavy cream in the fridge from making macaroni and cheese recently that was going to have to get used up before it expired. So why not kick up regular pesto to a higher level. In the pan went the cream, salt, nutmeg and pepper. Stir together.
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| Mmm, rich. |
I let it simmer for a bit until it thickened. Whisking to keep it creamy and smooth.
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| Darkens up a little. |
Into a large bowl I tossed the pasta with the pesto cream sauce. I'm sure I could have stopped right there and been done, but there were just a couple more things to make it even that much better.
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| Resist taking a bite! Not quite done yet! |
I toasted the pignolias until they were just lightly golden. And put them in the bowl.
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| Crunch factor! Gotta have it. |
Earlier I had reconstituted sun dried tomatoes and chopped them up. I gently tossed everything together with kitchen tongs.
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| Mmm, tart, acidic element. |
That did it! Perfect magic. Just a little bit of Parmesan on top and the dish was complete. And all from what I already had in the house. No shopping necessary.
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| Twisted and piled up in the bowl. |
If I don't like what's in my closet, then it's time to do two things before I even consider buying anything new: 1.) Go through every last thing and get rid of any item I don't love, is worn out (in the trash that goes) or doesn't fit. (Farewell to that which is too big or too small - after my bowl of pasta, the second option is more likely.) Good Will has late donating hours, so I have plenty of time on weekends to drop off the good pieces so they can get a second life with new owners. (I sometimes even donate pieces that are new with tags that I never wore!) 2.) Inventory what remains, which should be easier to see in that space, and really ask myself if there is anything I "need." That should help me so when I'm out, I don't just buy a bunch of random stuff and end up in the exact same place again in six months. Contrary to my whimsical clothes buying attitude, I don't have to walk out of the store with everything that catches my eye. (And as of right now, it's been four months since I've bought any clothing items at all. I haven't even purchased so much as a sock. I want to see if I can last six months.)
Once I've done a thorough cleansing of my walk-in, only then can I reasonably consider something fresh being allowed into my home. (Out with the old, THEN in with the new.) Plus, after having done that in-depth assessment, I'll know exactly what I'm looking for, instead of buying a fifth pair of black slacks I don't need and still being left with a conspicuous lack of grey ones. I'll also then have the opportunity to see existing pieces in a different light and combine them in new ways as well. Sometimes you can get what feels like a new wardrobe just from mixing and matching what you already have in ways you never thought of before.
We have such an excess of "stuff" here in America that we buy, buy, buy, only to come home and often find we already had what we needed. (In triplicate!) Spring is here and the perfect time to clean, sort and donate. (Works for your pantry too!) Make sure that what's left, you absolutely love and will use. Might make you change your thinking about that next purchase.
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